Victoria Historical Society
Meets at the James Bay New Horizons, 234 Menzies Street on the dates and times indicated.
7:00 pm March 27, 2025
Dragged from the Surf: Shipwrecks and
Rescues on Vancouver Island’s
Indigenous Shores, 1859-1906.
With Jesse Robertson
In 1877, the Member of Parliament for Victoria raised a motion to establish
lifesaving stations “to succour shipwrecked
mariners” and protect them from “murderous attacks” on the Pacific coast.
Stories of Indigenous “murder” and “plunder” continued to circulate long after their actual occurrence, but the reality quite different by the late nineteenth century. In fact, Indigenous seafarers were the colonial
castaway’s best hope. In the absence of an organized coast guard, Canadian officials relied on Indigenous rescuers to drag mariners from the surf in what became known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
This presentation examines the history of shipwrecks on Vancouver Island, showing how Indigenous first responders saved lives and reaffirmed ancient “drift rights” when sailors washed ashore and local communities were called to their aid.
Friends of B.C. Archives
Finding Archival Images to Bring History to Life
Nancy Marguerite Anderson
Sunday, March 16th 2025 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Conference Hall, Royal BC Museum
Discover how to uncover and use archival images to illuminate stories from British Columbia’s past, in particular the past that predated the invention of the camera. Drawing on her extensive research and published works, historian and author Nancy Marguerite Anderson shares insights from The York Factory Express (chronicling the annual return trip from Fort Vancouver to Hudson Bay),The HBC Brigades (exploring early trailblazing from the Coquihalla to Fort Langley), and her forthcoming book, tentatively named, Three Journeys North (detailing the historic route to Portage la Loche and beyond to the Arctic Ocean). Anderson will reveal the creative approaches and strategies she uses to find and interpret visual materials, offering inspiration and practical advice for researchers and storytellers alike.
Nancy Marguerite Anderson is a writer and researcher. Métis [Métis Nation BC]. Accidental Historian, writing the Stories of the West side of the Rocky Mountains before 1858.
Oak Bay Heritage Foundation
Meets at the Windsor Park Pavilion
2451 Windsor Park, Oak Bay
At 7 pm on Thursday March 20, Helen Edwards will speak on her book, “History of Professional Hockey in Victoria 1911-2011” the 2nd edition of which was published in January 2024. The location is at the Windsor Park Pavilion , lectures open to all and start at 7pm.